ELMHURST, Ill. - Before heading home for the holiday, the Saint Mary's men's basketball team traveled to Illinois to take on Elmhurst University in a Tuesday night battle. The Cardinals fell short to the Blue Jays and lost 82-68.

Freshman Sawyer Markham recorded a season high 15 points on a high shooting performance of (.750) percent from the floor and two assists. Jemari Moore with three assists and a steal for 11 points.
 
Senior Owen Ziegler opened up the game with a three pointer to get his team in a rhythm right away. The next defensive trip, Jabari Sawyer blocked a shot leading to a Moore fast break to put the Cardinals ahead 5-0. 
 
The Cardinals momentum halted quickly as the Blue Jays jumped out ahead after forcing three turnovers and the flustered Cardinals only had one basket in four minutes. Moore ended the drought on a personal five point run with a layup and a three and Ziegler followed along with a three of his own to bring the deficit to four, 25-21. 
 
That would be the closest the Cardinals would get to defeating the Blue Jays.
 
Khai Branham created a steal and assisted on an and-one layup for Markham on a fast break to close out the first half.
 
Saint Mary's regained their rhythm with a three-pointer from Branham and a strong post move by Jackson Harvey, cutting the deficit to seven, 43-36. Five minutes passed without a score from the Cardinals, giving the Blue Jays an opportunity to extend their lead.
 
Two free throws and a layup from Harvey got the Cardinals back on the board.
 
Markham took the final ten minutes to land a career high in points for the freshman. He earned the next seven points and two assists with two layups and a three pointer. He created offense from his defense, earning steals too.
 
The late effort was not enough as the Cardinals fell 82-68 at Elmhurst.
 
The Cardinals will return from break taking on UW-Stout on Monday, December 2nd at 7 p.m.